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Perhaps it is because it is not applicable to most countries. Netherlands has a very strong private industry and a reasonably small population. High tech - high
by afsina 11y ago
Perhaps it is because it is not applicable to most countries. Netherlands has a very strong private industry and a reasonably small population. High tech - high profit Industry can withstand the very high taxes imposed by the government. To me, Netherlands would probably much more prosperous if taxes were lower and Govenment is less socialistic. But, if people are ok with current situation, it is their choice.
It is easy to play socialism where you have strong private industry and/or abundant natural resources with small population. Try that in say, India and you will see the catastrophic results in very short time (In fact, they have recovered by abandoning socialistic policies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India#Post-liberalisation_period_.28since_1991.29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India#Post-liberali... ).
- nightcracker 11y ago> To me, [the] Netherlands would probably much more prosperous if taxes were lower and Govenment [sic] is less socialistic. Who would be more prosperous? The richest 1% would be much richer, yes. The bottom 50% of the population would be a lot worse off: sick and uneducated.
- afsina 11y agoI would challenge that. What is the average salary of %50 and their tax percentage?
- nightcracker 11y agoNot the most reliable source, but I don't have much time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_median_wage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_... Median gross salary is €1714 monthly or €20568 yearly. Then, looking up the income taxation (reliable): http://www.belastingschijven.net/belastingschijven-2015/ http://www.belastingschijven.net/belastingschijven-2015/ It seems that median salary almost entirely fits in the first 'schijf' (english: disk) of taxation. This means that the total income tax is: 19822 * 0.365 + (20568 - 19822) * 0.42 = €7548 yearly.
- gregsq 11y agoOn the other hand, being afraid of all kinds of public ownership is not helpful. I'd bring national development banks into this. They proved themselves to be very efficient in the twentieth century in places that were at the time in need of development, like Singapore and Australia. The UK even mooted one, through Vince Cable, as a means of growth out of the GFC. Didn't fly in the end for pretty obvious reasons. China's just made one, the Asia development bank, and to the chagrin of the US, has been joined by those same countries who from experience, know that they work. Australia's largest bank, the commonwealth bank, was public, which you can get from the name. It had a trading bank. For development.